Post navigation

Statin Choir Boy Turns Disbeliever

Statin Choir Boy Turns Disbeliever

by Jeffrey Dach MD

For many years, Stephen Sinatra believed in statin drugs and prescribed them as a cardiologist in Connecticut. He gave lectures to other cardiologists on the merits of statin drugs at medical meetings on behalf of the drug companies. However, after a time, he became disillusioned and was transformed from a “Statin Choirboy” to a “Statin Disbeliever”.

Dr. Stephen Sinatra’s Observations:

1) many patients with low cholesterol will go on to develop heart disease.

2) In many patients with cholesterol above 280, angiograms show normal coronary arteries. They don’t have heart disease.

3) Population studies discredit cholesterol. For example, the French have the highest cholesterol levels in Europe of 250, and they also have lowest incidence of heart disease. On the Greek Island of Crete, average cholesterol is well over 200, yet there was not a single heart attack there in ten years.

4) Half of all heart attacks occur in people with normal total cholesterol.

Cholesterol and statins

A Vending Machine for Statin Drugs?

I refer you to Dr. Stephen Sinatra’s excellent articlein the Townsend Letter in which he remarks that drug companies Merck and Pfizer have transformed the medical profession into one big vending machine for statin drugs.(4)

The Old Lipid Panel is Obsolete

Dr. Stephen Sinatra also tells us that the old Cholesterol blood test ordered by your primary care doctor is now obsolete, and has been replaced by the more sophisticated lipoprotein panel, providing a wealth of more information. What is this added information? In addition, the Calcium Score is more sensitive and accurate test than serum cholesterol for determining heart disease risk.

LDL Particles – Not All Sizes are Equal

Firstly, the new test provides LDL particle size. Small LDL particle size is the dangerous one associated with increased risk of heart disease. Large buoyant LDL particle size is the safe one, with less heart disease risk. Secondly the Lipoprotein profile includes Lipoprotein (a), a marker of high risk for heart disease risk.

Significance of Total Cholesterol

Steven Sinatra says total cholesterol doesn’t mean much unless you have a level over 320 which increases risk of stroke. Reducing cholesterol can be accomplished with weight reduction and increasing dietary fiber. Dr Sinatra would not prescribe a statin drug unless you are a male with documented heart disease.

Just Don’t Do It

Below you will find Steven Sinatra’s advice if your doctor tells you to take statin based on the standard cholesterol panel:

1) Don’t do it. Ask for a Lipo-protein Subfraction Test such as the NMR LipoPorfile (LabCorp) or Cardio-IQ (Quest)

2) If you are a 50-75 year old male with small dense LDL, then go for the statin drug. It’s a good idea. If you are over 75, don’t take a statin drug as the drugs cause increased mortality in the elderly.

3) If you are a woman, avoid statins, as no statin drug study has ever shown a benefit in all-cause mortality for women by lowering cholesterol, and adverse effects of the drugs are horrendous.

4) If you have elevated lipoprotein (a), do not take a statin. The drugs don’t work for this. Instead use Niacin (B3) 500-2000 mg per day, Fish oil 2-3 grams per day, and Nattokinase 100 mg per day.

The Greatest Scientific Deception of the Century

Data from the Framingham Study was the basis for the cholesterol theory of heart disease, the theory that elevated cholesterol levels causes heart disease, and reducing cholesterol levels with diet or drugs prevented heart disease. A Biochemist and participant in the Framingham study, George V. Mann, later said in his memoirs,

” Saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet are not the causes of coronary heart disease. That myth is the greatest scientific deception of this century, perhaps of any century.”(7,8)

I Stopped My Statin Drug – Now What ?

What replaces the statin drugs once patients gets off? What lifestyle modifications and nutritional supplements are used to prevent or reverse heart disease? There is an entire program devoted to this called is the Track Your Plaque Programdevised by William Davis MD, a Wisconsin cardiologist .

William Davis MD Warns About the Evil Trio

If total cholesterol is not useful as a predictor of heart disease risk, what is? Which lipoprotein markers are the ones to look for? Davis tells us the lipoprotein profile sometimes reveals an evil trio of abnormalities strongly predictive of heart disease, often leading to advanced heart disease at an early age.(6)

Here is the evil trio:

1) Low HDL–generally less than 50 mg/dl.
2) Small Particle Size LDL–especially if 50% or more of total LDL.
3) Lipoprotein(a)–an aggressive risk factor by itself.

If you have the evil trio, rather than robotically prescribe a statin drug, Davis recommends lifestyle modification and dietary supplements. Davis remarks that some of his greatest heart disease reversals have been in patient with this evil trio, which responds well to the regimen listed below. Reversal of Heart disease is determined by reduction in coronary calcium score (or less of an increase).

Here is Dr Davis’ program for Reversing Heart Disease and the Evil Trio

Here are a cases from the office of people on statins that I see very day. Statin Case Reports From the Office:

Number One – Chronic Psoriatic Rash from Statins:

Dan is about 65 with no history of heart disease and has been on a statin drug for a cholesterol of 220 about two years. His major problem is a red raised rash on his forearms, and hands and forehead which looks a lot like psoriasis, present for about 2 years. Dermatologists have been stumped and of no help.

Dan’s Lipoprotein Profile show large buoyant LDL particles indicating low risk for heart disease. His coronary calcium score was 75th per centile indicating only mildly above average risk of heart disease (50% per centile is average risk).

I told Dan that the rash was most likely a reaction to the statin anti-cholesterol drug, and advised a two week trial off the drug to see if the rash resolves. Three weeks later Dan returns to the office, and reports the skin rash is gone.

Number Two- Lupus-like Skin Lesion from Statins

Sarah is an 82 year old with no history of heart disease and on a statin drug for a cholesterol of 235. She had been to the dermatologist because of skin lesions on her face near the temple areas which were biopsied and reported by the pathologist as inflammation in the skin suggestive of lupus erythematosis. Sarah is concerned she has Lupus and cam to see me for a second opinion. I told Sarah she did not have Lupus and advised her that the skin eruptions were a reaction to the statin drug. Sarah stopped the statin drug and three weeks later reported the skin had returned to normal.

Number Three- Early Alzheimer’s from Statins

Lori is a 52 year old post menopausal with chief complaint of memory loss, cognitive dysfunction and severe fatigue. She had no history of heart disease and been on a statin drug for many years for a cholesterol of 230. I advised her to stop the statin drug. However, her cognitive dysfunction and memory loss continued unchanged. She was unable to find the office for a follow up visit, gave up and drove home.

A study by Muldoon showed virtual 100% of patients on statin drugs have some element of cognitive impairment, ranging from mild to severe symptoms of amnesia and cognitive dysfunction. (5) I have found this to be the case in actual clinical practice.

Jim is a war veteran and was paralyzed from a roadside bomb many years ago, and has since been wheelchair bound. Although there is no history of heart disease, his doctor placed him on a statin drug for a cholesterol of 245 about two years ago. Shortly thereafter, Jim developed non-healing chronic decubitus infections at the ischial tuberosities at the site of pressure sitting in the wheelchair. Jim has had numerous surgical procedure and drainages, debridements, and multiple courses of antibiotics for these chronic infections which refuse to heal. In this case, the statin drug prevents healing of chronic infection. Jim stopped the statin drug, began an intensive nutritional program to boost immunity and healing ability and reported improvement after 6 weeks.

Credit and Thanks to Stephen Sinatra MD and William Davis MD for most of the information in this article.

If we have to prescribe a statin we always make sure the patient takes an ample amount of supplemental CoQ10 – at least 100 mg daily and taken with a meal.

4) Townsend Letter, Clearing Up the Cholesterol Confusion by Steven Sinatra, MD A well-known cardiologist explains why he doesn’t think lowering cholesterol is the answer for preventing heart disease, and debunks the routine prescription of statins for all but specific cases.

CONCLUSION: Treatment of hypercholesterolemia with lovastatin did result in small performance decrements on neuropsychological tests of attention and psychomotor speed.

(6) Lethal lipids-Heart Scan Blog William Davis MD

There’s a specific combination of lipids/lipoproteins that confers especially high risk for heart disease. That combination is:
Low HDL–generally less than 50 mg/dl
Small LDL–especially if 50% or more of total LDL
Lipoprotein(a)–an aggressive risk factor by itself

Disclaimer click here: www.drdach.com/wst_page20.html
The reader is advised to discuss the comments on these pages with
his/her personal physicians and to only act upon the advice of his/her personal physician. Also note that concerning an answer which appears as an electronically posted question, I am NOT creating a physician — patient relationship. Although identities will remain confidential as much as possible, as I can not control the media, I can not take responsibility for any breaches of confidentiality that may occur.

7) http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM197709222971206
Mann, George V. “Diet-heart: end of an era.” New England Journal of Medicine 297.12 (1977): 644-650.

8) http://www.epi.umn.edu/cvdepi/essay/it-isnt-always-fun-a-mann-apart/
Heart Attack Prevention A History of Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology U of Minnesota
“It Isn’t Always Fun.” – A Mann Apart A Biographical Story
Saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet are not the causes of coronary heart disease. That myth is the greatest scientific deception of this century, perhaps of any century.

Disclaimer click here: http://www.drdach.com/wst_page20.html
The reader is advised to discuss the comments on these pages with his/her personal physicians and to only act upon the advice of his/her personal physician. Also note that concerning an answer which appears as an electronically posted question, I am NOT creating a physician — patient relationship.

Although identities will remain confidential as much as possible, as I can not control the media, I can not take responsibility for any breaches of confidentiality that may occur.

Copyright (c) 2014 Jeffrey Dach MD All Rights Reserved
This article may be reproduced on the internet without permission, provided there is a link to this page and proper credit is given.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues of significance. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

One thought on “Statin Choir Boy Turns Disbeliever”

I am surprised neither of these cardiologists offerd the ultimate solution to atherosclerosis the you have written about………the use of high doses of Vitamin C as outlined by Dr. Linus Pauling and Dr. Thomas Levy combined with Lysine and Proline. Dr. Sinatra still prescribes statins for secondary prevention, which I believe is a huge mistake. I have seen MANY heart disease patients have progression of their coronary disease in as little as two years after starting a statin drug. Since they accelerate coronary calcification by interfering with the Vitamin K pathyway, this is no surprise. The real surprise is that some one as educated as Dr. Sinatra still advises statins when every secondary prevention study has never shown anything better than a 0.6 – 0.8%/year improvement in survival with no effect on heart attacks nor strokes.